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2011-08-10

[URGENT] Navy fires shots after NK shell lands near sea border

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South Korean naval forces fired back after a North Korean artillery shell fell into waters on the western maritime border Wednesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

North Korean troops fired artillery rounds off its coast around 1 p.m., an official said, apparently in naval drills.

"We heard the sound of three artillery firings. One shell is assumed to have fallen near Yeonpyeong Island on the Northern Limit Line. We fired back,” he said.

The South fired three warning shots around 2 p.m. He said the military does not think it is a serious incident.

"We haven’t noticed any particular movements in the North Korean military.”

The military is trying to establish whether the North fired “accidentally or intentionally” he added.

In November, the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing two civilians and two Marines in the North's first armed attack on the South Korean territory since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

In March, the North torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan in the West Sea, killing 46 sailors.

The western NLL zone near Yeonpyeong is the scene of deadly naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.

The NLL, which U.N. forces drew at the end of the Korean War, has served as the de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas. The North does not recognize the NLL and demanded it be redrawn.